Skills consume full token count at startup instead of progressive disclosure (frontmatter only)
## Problem According to the [skills documentation](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills), skills should use **progressive disclosure**: > "Claude reads these files only when needed, using progressive disclosure to manage context efficiently." The expected behavior: 1. **Metadata (name + description)** - Always in context (~100 words) 2. **SKILL.md body** - When skill triggers (<5k words) 3. **Bundled resources** - As needed by Claude ## Observed behavior Running `/context` shows skills consuming their **full token count** at startup, not just the frontmatter: ``` Skills and slash commands · /skills Plugin └ Skill Development: 5.5k tokens └ Command Development: 4.6k tokens └ Hook Development: 3.9k tokens └ plugin-dev:create-plugin: 3.7k tokens └ Plugin Structure: 3.2k tokens └ MCP Integration: 3.0k tokens ... ``` These are from the **official `claude-plugins-official/plugin-dev`** plugin. ## The irony The "Skill Development" skill (5.5k tokens) explicitly states: > "Keep SKILL.md lean: Target 1,500-2,000 words" Yet it contains ~5000+ words in its body, and appears to be fully loaded at startup. ## Questions 1. Is `/context` showing the **total potential size** or what's **actually loaded**? 2. If progressive disclosure works correctly, why do skills show full token counts? 3. If the full body IS loaded at startup, is this intended behavior or a bug? ## Impact With multiple plugins installed, skills alone consume 50k+ tokens before any conversation starts, seve
Posted by atournayre on Dec 20, 2025, 3:13 PM
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Raise real-world problems, find people facing the same issue, and discuss solutions.2,000 issues0 comments
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struct's lifetime requirements can be bypassed via covariant field assignment
Proposal to Reorganize the Moderation Team and Review Moderation Policies
Progressive FPS degradation appears to be related to dota2.com — blocking the domain prevents the performance loss
proposal: container/...: generic collection types
Better Custom Endpoint BYOK
A concrete policy for backward compatibility until Godot 5.0
New MTP models not supported
Tracking: 429 / Capacity Issues
Skills consume full token count at startup instead of progressive disclosure (frontmatter only)
## Problem According to the [skills documentation](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills), skills should use **progressive disclosure**: > "Claude reads these files only when needed, using progressive disclosure to manage context efficiently." The expected behavior: 1. **Metadata (name + description)** - Always in context (~100 words) 2. **SKILL.md body** - When skill triggers (<5k words) 3. **Bundled resources** - As needed by Claude ## Observed behavior Running `/context` shows skills consuming their **full token count** at startup, not just the frontmatter: ``` Skills and slash commands · /skills Plugin └ Skill Development: 5.5k tokens └ Command Development: 4.6k tokens └ Hook Development: 3.9k tokens └ plugin-dev:create-plugin: 3.7k tokens └ Plugin Structure: 3.2k tokens └ MCP Integration: 3.0k tokens ... ``` These are from the **official `claude-plugins-official/plugin-dev`** plugin. ## The irony The "Skill Development" skill (5.5k tokens) explicitly states: > "Keep SKILL.md lean: Target 1,500-2,000 words" Yet it contains ~5000+ words in its body, and appears to be fully loaded at startup. ## Questions 1. Is `/context` showing the **total potential size** or what's **actually loaded**? 2. If progressive disclosure works correctly, why do skills show full token counts? 3. If the full body IS loaded at startup, is this intended behavior or a bug? ## Impact With multiple plugins installed, skills alone consume 50k+ tokens before any conversation starts, seve
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